The term ‘wetback’ is a slur.
It is not a term of endearment in any way shape or form.
To attempt to frame it as something other than a slur is insulting to the intelligence of others and subversive in context.
Are derogatory words allowed on Forumosa? Short answer, yes they are.
I look at intent as the important factor. If somebody uses the word “nigger” to refer to black people, I would view that as being inappropriate. If somebody wishes to discuss the etymology of the word, or Bill Cosby’s take on it, or John Lennon’s song, “Woman is the nigger of the world”, than I have no problem with it.
The word wetback was recently used in the IP forum. It was reported, I looked at it, and cleared it. That particular case is closed, as far as I’m concerned.
[quote=“Maoman”]Are derogatory words allowed on Forumosa? Short answer, yes they are.
I look at intent as the important factor. If somebody uses the word “nigger” to refer to black people, I would view that as being inappropriate. If somebody wishes to discuss the etymology of the word, or Bill Cosby’s take on it, or John Lennon’s song, “Woman is the nigger of the world”, than I have no problem with it.[/quote]Bingo. It’s pretty simple. In some instances, it helps to know the author in order to read the words as they were intended. But in most cases it’s pretty obvious, one way or the other.
Not sure but derogatory attitudes are de rigueur here. You’ll fit in better when 70% or more of your posts end with a blanket statement about how all Taiwanese are greedy, shallow, thoughtless, horrible drivers who chew with their mouths open, or wear their underwear backwards…
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]The term ‘wetback’ is a slur.
It is not a term of endearment in any way shape or form.
To attempt to frame it as something other than a slur is insulting to the intelligence of others and subversive in context.[/quote]
[quote=“Shaktipalooza”]Not sure but derogatory attitudes are de rigueur here. You’ll fit in better when 70% or more of your posts end with a blanket statement about how all Taiwanese are greedy, shallow, thoughtless, horrible drivers who chew with their mouths open, or wear their underwear backwards…
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]The term ‘wetback’ is a slur.
It is not a term of endearment in any way shape or form.
To attempt to frame it as something other than a slur is insulting to the intelligence of others and subversive in context.[/quote][/quote]
I think there’s a difference between stereotyping or generalizing, and using derogatory names, and in any case, as MM says, all of those depend on context, don’t they? If you just had a week of experiencing Kaohsiung taxi drivers spitting betel nut sputum and staring at the betel girls while ignoring the road and driving erratically and smelling up the car with their spit, shouldn’t you be able to say “F-ing KH taxi drivers are a bloody disgusting lot”?
I totally agree with TC about wetback and n**ger, anything intentionally derogatory towards a race or religion or whatever, but I would think making unmalicious jokes (so long as it’s clear) or actually discussing the term or race or whatever should be exempt.
TT -
Of course those terms are a derogatory slur. And of course there are other words that are used in context of a joke that really are not meant as an insult to the un-pc person.
But what you are missing here is the subtle subtext of the ruling:
It depends on who the person is who makes use of the derogatory(insulting) term.
“Some animals are more equal than others.”…
Barack Obama hates white people.
Kanye West hates them more.
[quote=“TwoTongues”][quote=“Shaktipalooza”]Not sure but derogatory attitudes are de rigueur here. You’ll fit in better when 70% or more of your posts end with a blanket statement about how all Taiwanese are greedy, shallow, thoughtless, horrible drivers who chew with their mouths open, or wear their underwear backwards…
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]The term ‘wetback’ is a slur.
It is not a term of endearment in any way shape or form.
To attempt to frame it as something other than a slur is insulting to the intelligence of others and subversive in context.[/quote][/quote]
I think there’s a difference between stereotyping or generalizing, and using derogatory names, and in any case, as MM says, all of those depend on context, don’t they? If you just had a week of experiencing Kaohsiung taxi drivers spitting betel nut sputum and staring at the betel girls while ignoring the road and driving erratically and smelling up the car with their spit, shouldn’t you be able to say “F-ing KH taxi drivers are a bloody disgusting lot”?
I totally agree with TC about wetback and n**ger, anything intentionally derogatory towards a race or religion or whatever, but I would think making unmalicious jokes (so long as it’s clear) or actually discussing the term or race or whatever should be exempt.[/quote]
I’m pretty much in agreement with TC about it. If I were at a social gathering, and somebody near me used the term under discussion, there’s a pretty good chance I’d start nonchalantly moving away from that person, and there’s almost as good of a chance I’d start nonchalantly moving toward the door. I’m not trying to tell anybody what to do or say, but usually I don’t want any trouble, and that word looks like the kind of word that could cause trouble.
I’d never heard of “wetback” until this thread. So if I had been called that I would have just shrugged and carried on with what I was doing.
Things that are offensive don’t always crossover . E.g. Brits will call each other qunts and its not as offensive as it would be to Americans. As I understand it, an Australian calling an Aboriginal Australian a “bung” is the height of nastiness, but it wouldn’t have the same effect on African Americans.
Well, there’s that, too, the cultural-context thing. I usually think of that, but this time I didn’t.
I think I once got banned or something for calling Obama a mulatto. Which is, of course, the proper scientific word for the product of miscegenetation between a white and a full-blooded Negro.
[quote=“Screaming Jesus”]I think I once got banned or something for calling Obama a mulatto. Which is, of course, the proper scientific word for the product of miscegenetation between a white and a full-blooded Negro.[/quote]Testing the water? Such disrespect for others’ sensibilities is, in my opinion, ban-worthy. 
Scientific??
Only if you got your degree from Byron De La Beckwith State College…
Uh… no.
[quote=“OED”][Partly < Spanish mulato, noun ‘person of mixed race’ (1588) and adjective ‘of mixed race’ (< mulo mule (see MULE n.1) + -ato (see below), and partly < Portuguese mulato, adjective and noun (a1515 with reference to a ‘person of mixed race’, 1526 in sense ‘young mule’, 18th cent. in sense ‘dark colour’; < mulo (see MULE n.1) + -ato: see below). Compare Middle French mullatre (1544), French mulâtre (1614; with assimilation of suffix to -âtre: compare -ASTER suffix), Italian mulatto (mid 16th cent.), and also German Mulatte (18th cent.; 16th cent. as Molate, 17th cent. as Mullato, Mulate).
The suffix -ato of the Spanish and Portuguese forms is probably related to post-classical Latin -attus, suffix forming nouns denoting the young of animals.] [/quote]
People called Bush a Nazi on here and weren’t banned for it. 
Fairplay? Nope. Been an improvement lately in evenhandedness, but still a ways to go IMHO 
viewtopic.php?f=86&t=87137&p=1132023&hilit=Bush+nazi#p1132023
You can also see the hypocrisy of the left with what’s going on with the oil spill in Louisiana. Remember in New Orleans after Katrina you had Kanye West saying that Bush didn’t care about black people. Perfect acceptable to many people and even broadcasted by the mainstream NBC media. Now, what would happen if people in Louisiana or Tennessee said that Obama, with his poor communication efforts and responses, didn’t care about white people? Would be considered fringe people, right?
Is “pantywaist crybaby” a derogatory term?
What does ‘pantywaist’ mean?
Uh… no.
[quote=“OED”][Partly < Spanish mulato, noun ‘person of mixed race’ (1588) and adjective ‘of mixed race’ (< mulo mule (see MULE n.1) + -ato (see below), and partly < Portuguese mulato, adjective and noun (a1515 with reference to a ‘person of mixed race’, 1526 in sense ‘young mule’, 18th cent. in sense ‘dark colour’; < mulo (see MULE n.1) + -ato: see below). Compare Middle French mullatre (1544), French mulâtre (1614; with assimilation of suffix to -âtre: compare -ASTER suffix), Italian mulatto (mid 16th cent.), and also German Mulatte (18th cent.; 16th cent. as Molate, 17th cent. as Mullato, Mulate).
The suffix -ato of the Spanish and Portuguese forms is probably related to post-classical Latin -attus, suffix forming nouns denoting the young of animals.] [/quote][/quote]
The Arabic root of the word seems to have a less pejorative meaning and more benign meaning, no?
[quote]
Another etymology which can be found in some dictionaries and scholarly works attempts to correlate the word’s origins to the Arabic
term muwallad, which means “a person of mixed ancestry”. Muwallad literally means, "born, begotten, produced, generated; brought up,
raised; born and raised among Arabs (but not of pure Arab blood). Muwallad is derived from the root word WaLaD (Arabic: ??? direct
Arabic transliteration: waw, lam, dal). Walad means, “descendant, offspring, scion; child; son; boy; young animal, young one.” Muwallad
referred to the offspring of Arab men and foreign, non-Arab women. The term muwalladin is used in Arabic up to this day to describe the
children between Arab fathers and foreign mothers. According to Julio Izquierdo Labrado as well as Leopoldo Eguilaz y Yanguas as well as
some Arabian sources muwallad is the etymological origin of mulato. In this context mulato would have been derived directly from muwallad
rather than through muladí, a term which was applied to Spanish Christians who had converted to Islam during the Arab domination of
Spain. Rather, the two words may share a common etymological muwallad base.[/quote]
Milksop, milquetoast, sissy, pansy.
Originally a child’s undergarment that consisted of pants and a jacket, buttoned together at the waist.
Its not really derogatory – its what you use when you’d get banned for typing what you REALLY think.